All 58 California counties received letters from the U.S. Department of Justice late last week identifying people it believes are noncitizens registered to vote, according to the Justice Department. Audits of lists in letters sent to counties found discrepancies, according to election and state officials.<\/p>\n
In Solano County, interim Registrar of Voters John Gardner said his office received about 170 names. A preliminary review of a random sample found that about 55% had canceled voter registrations.<\/p>\n
“The timing was absolutely terrible,” Gardner said. “This should have been months ago, well before sending ballots out to voters.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
One person in the sample was listed as deceased in county records, Gardner said. Others had registrations canceled years ago.<\/p>\n
“The oldest one in the sample was from 2006, so the person had not been receiving ballots for a long time,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gardner emphasized that his office’s review was limited to checking whether the names matched county voter records. It did not verify citizenship.<\/p>\n
“It’s a very cursory look, just seeing if they’re in our list, if we could match it to a real voter,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gardner said his office is not setting aside ballots and is awaiting further direction from the California secretary of state or the courts.<\/p>\n
Sacramento County also received a list of 602 names, according to a county spokesperson Monday, who said officials are reviewing the Justice Department’s request.<\/p>\n
“In the meantime, the County will continue to carry out its election responsibilities in accordance with state and federal law,” the county spokesperson said. “Our priority remains conducting a fair, accurate, secure and transparent election while protecting the rights and privacy of voters.”<\/p>\n
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office also reported discrepancies in other counties’ lists. According to a news release from Bonta’s office, a preliminary review of 200 names provided to Los Angeles County found more than half had canceled or inactive registrations, 38.9% listed a U.S. birthplace and 71.2% had no voting history.<\/p>\n
In Mendocino County, the clerk-recorder found that every person on the federal government’s list lived outside the county, according to the release.<\/p>\n